While many musicians fit easily into a single category, Steve Vai's unique musical vision remains unclassifiable. After more than 20 years and much acclaim, Vai continues to use his unbridled guitar virtuosity and soulful artistry to explore the spectrum of human emotion.

Growing up on Led Zeppelin and progressive rock, Vai has always had a penchant for the conceptual side of rock. He first stepped into the spotlight in 1980 as a guitarist in Frank Zappa's band. 2006 saw Vai return to the state with several of his former band members on the Zappa Plays Zappa tour, performed with Dwezill Zappa. But Vai's indelible contribution to music came during his solo career, which includes combined sales of nearly six million albums. His debut album Flex-Able in 1984 set the stage for Vai's most influential and best-selling album, Passion and Warfare which was released in 1990. The album expanded the lexicon of rock guitar and ushered in an era of guitar virtuosos in the early '90s.

From Flex-Able to his most recent release, Sound Theories, Vai creates a sound all his own by striking a balance between technical ability and poetic phrasing. "I make music to push my own buttons," explains Vai. "I've always been driven by an addiction to create sounds that are unique – not better than what other people do, just different." While many of his albums revolve around a specific thematic axis, Vai considers Sound Theories the high point of his conceptual efforts.